Upgrade or Rip-Off? Jay-Z Replacing Beasties at All Points West

So, as you may have read in these very web pages, MCA (a.k.a. Adam Yauch) of the Beastie Boys was recently diagnosed with parotid cancer, so the group’s upcoming tour dates were canceled and their album pushed back. All that means no Beasties at All Points West (to which, of course, The L just gave away tickets), and their replacement will be Jay-Z. Not too shabby, right? Or is it, in fact, very, very shabby? Check out the first track off that delayed Beasties album “Too Many Rappers” with Nas (embedded after the jump) then give Jay’s “D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune)” a listen, and you’ll realize that this might actually be an epic downgrade.

One of these tracks is way better than the other (also, Jay has been known to perform Oasis songs at festivals, which is cute, but not okay). And besides, he’ll be coming out of retirement for the rest of his career, but the Beastie Boys are a little more sparse with their comebacks. Hopefully they’ll make it to APW next year, provided Mike D doesn’t need a hip replacement. (All Points West is next weekend, and now, obviously, Chris Martin and Jay-Z will have to do a duet.)